The Scars That Never Heal
by Elissa Theirin
Summary: Shepard is taken from her home world Mindoir as a baby, cloned and groomed to become the ultimate soldier by Cerberus. But when she see's the true face of Cerberus, she leaves and joins the Alliance, abandoning her sister, and the betraying the people that made her, with dire ramifications. AU story, FemShep and Kaidan pairing.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

'_He who makes a beast of himself removes himself from the pain of being human'- Dr. Samuel Johnson_

"Sir, I think you should see this!" Clarkson spoke excitedly over the intercom. "Subject One showing signs of neural awareness."

The Illusive Man brought up the video feed. In the cryo containment pod was the body of a young girl, aged no more than eleven, smooth red hair, flawless pale skin, her countenance exhibited nothing but peace. She had been asleep for eleven years. Sedated was perhaps a better word. For they had spent the last eleven years growing, developing and perfecting the child "donated" to them by a couple of farmers on Mindoir. It seemed she was ready.

The Illusive Man expelled smoke from his mouth, casually flicking of the ash from his cigar. "She needs a name."

"Well, her family name is Shepard—"

"A first name, Clarkson."

He shifted nervously. "The guys down here at the lab called her Elixsis. After the Elixir of Life, I guess, since she's the first to survive."

"Fitting. Now, what about Subject Two?" he asked, sipping at a glass of brandy.

"There are very slight signs of neurological activity; she could awake in the next 24 hours."

"Excellent. We'll give her a name…Viveres."

Clarkson grinned. "Perfect, sir. I'll need to conduct some rudimentary tests on Elixsis, check that she is taking to the cybernetic implants but we will have her ready for…lessons as soon as possible."

"Good, keep me posted."

"Of course, sir."

The Illusive Man continued to scrutinize the project as she was flushed from her pod and attended by the scientists. Project Lazarus had finally bore fruit.

Pain. Blindness. Disorientation. Fear. Panic. And ultimately, life. These were the sensations that flooded through Elixsis as she was "born", sensations felt but unable to be comprehended by her mind that was no more advanced of a new-born baby. A set-back of their experiment, but one easily overcome.

Clarkson approached their protégé, whom was glancing around the room and its occupants with fearful, wild eyes. He tied a robe around her to cover her nudity, then quickly scanned her body with his omni-tool for any abnormalities or complications.

There was a slight rise in her blood-pressure, a rise in the rate of her breathing and pulse, but these were attributed by her trauma. No signs of damage or injury. Except for her uncultivated mind, she was perfect.

The pod containing Subject Two displayed signs of life from its inhabitant; Viveres was awakening.

The pod slid open and flushed her out. The girl collapsed onto her hands and knees, coughing and wretching. In every single way she was identical to Elixsis apart from the one exception—Elixsis was a human, born by farmers on Mindoir killed during a slaver attack. Viveres was her clone derived from her DNA. The original idea was to create a perfect copy in the case that Subject One needed knew organs or limbs, but having not been necessary, she became part of their original experiment to breed superior humans that could form the basis of an army of super soldiers.

Now they had to turn these girls into soldiers. They both looked afraid, dumb, and helpless. But with the backing of the Illusive Man, anything is possible.

Elixsis turned to the source of the noise and saw her clone. She watched her as she rose clumsily to legs she was not accustomed to with fear and suspicion. But Elixsis stepped forth with equal maladroitness, and approached the girl that would be her sister, for all intents and purpose. Hesitantly, she reached out a hand and touched her hand. Viveres started but didn't pull away, nor did Elixsis retract her touch. She knelt beside her, curiosity etched onto her delicate facial features. For a few seconds they remained this way, but Viveres then reached up and returned the caress.

The scientists who watched marvelled at the exchange, seeing it as no more than human nature created by human ingenuity, but what they were truly witnessing was more humane: it was an exchange of sisterly love.

~o0o~

From that point forth, the two Shepard's were inseparable. They slept together, ate together, studied together and trained together. Little did Cerberus know that as they trained the two girls together to become soldiers, they also nurtured the bond of the two sisters trapped in a foreign world they were now starting to learn of. Love, after all, was seen as a crutch by the Illusive Man, one that the girls would need to away with to reach their full potential. But still, by the age of fourteen, they both had in-depth knowledge of maths, literature, geography, religion, history, science and could speak four different languages. They knew the basics of piloting frigates and how to handle fire-arms. Elixsis favoured the assault rifle, Viveres the sniper, but they were just as deadly as with any other gun.

But they were confined to the residential floor of the ship. It's where they lived, took their meals and trained. They began to grow restless, wanting to see with their own eyes the world they had learned much about from their tutors. Little did they know the chaos that would ensue from their curiosity.

**Two years later:**

"I don't think we should leave," Viveres spoke firmly as she followed Elixsis making for the elevator.

"You're honestly telling me that you don't want to see what beyond the cafeteria, Viv?" Elixsis asked liltingly.

"Of course I am! It's just that we were specifically given orders…"

"A quick look isn't going to hurt anyone," she replied as she idled by the controls, unsure which floor to visit first. In the end she chose number nine, her lucky number.

Viveres sighed. "Lix…"

She sighed back at her sister. She had always been like this. Loyal to a fault. "I didn't ask you to come. You followed me, remember. Go back if you're scared."

She bristled. "I'm not scared! I'm just the only one that can keep you in order!"

"Yes, what a great job you do," she replied teasingly.

"Damn it, Lix!"

The elevator stopped, and Elixsis exited, drawing out her pistol. Viveres stopped dead.

"You brought your _gun_!?"

Elixsis shrugged. "Thought I might need it."

"We're not supposed to take them out of the training room! You know that!" she hissed, as though fearful someone might overhear. With all the cameras installed though, it was very possible someone might be observing them right now.

"I do know that," she retorted hotly. Viv was beginning to grate on her already frayed nerves. "But I chose to ignore that rule."

"I swear, Elixsis…"

She stopped as she finally looked ahead to a seemingly endless corridor devoid of life. Plenty of rooms, but no one exiting and entering as there was on the res floor.

"Where is everyone?" Viveres asked.

"Hell if I know," she replied, holstering her weapon. She started walking, very aware of her footfalls that broke the tenuous silence that engulfed them.

She chose a door at random, sealed like all the others, the windows of the room it protected blacked out. She brought up encryption codes on her omni-tool and began over-riding the door. Soon, the red holographic lock-interface changed to green, and the metal door opened with a muffled release of air.

The room was stocked with glass cabinets jammed with vials of coloured liquids, syringes, biotic amps, medi-gel along with other such supplies. On the right side of the room was two beds sectioned off from the left side by the cabinets. Elixsis looked left, and saw a sight that would forever stay as a scar on her brain.

There were two scientists huddled over a figure strapped to a reclined chair, injecting her in various parts of her anatomy with syringes, pumping her veins full of red, green, blue and purple fluids. She screamed, the sound of intense pain. The girl they were experimenting on could only be two or three years older, but her body was early completely covered by tattoos. There were even some on her head, which was shaved bald. Elixsis involuntarily gasped, then clamped a hand over her mouth. The Cerberus agents didn't hear her, but the girl did. She looked over in her direction, and their eyes met.

Elixsis ran. She had no idea when she had begun fleeing, but she now ran back to the elevator, the contents of her stomach surging up the back of her throat.

"Lix!" Viv called after her loud as she could without drawing attention.

She summoned the elevator, which took agonisingly long to arrive. When it did she threw herself in, pressed the button for floor three. For home.

"Sis?" Viv asked, moving into her line of sight.

Elixsis sank to the ground, her legs no longer able to support her. "These people…"

"What is it?"

"These people make me sick, Viv. I never thought they could…"

She cut off as she began wretching in the elevator.

"Come on Lix, let's go home."

The elevator slid open, and Elixsis rose with the aid of Viveres, but she didn't make it to her room, and emptied the contents of her stomach all over the pristine metal floor.

"Wait here, I'll get help!" Viveres said and she bolted.

Elixsis wanted to tell her not to summon those people, but she was cut off as she vomited once more. The tattooed girl, syringes, but most of all her pained screams were things she would remember and bare as scars for her entire life.

**Yeah, I'm not dead, simply MIA. I re-discovered my love for Mass Effect (which you've probably gathered by know) and I am back in school full-time so uploads will be more gradual than I'd like. **

**Anywho, this is pretty much my first AU fanfiction, so be gentle in the reviews (hint hint), but let me know what you think, still. Hopefully I'll have the next chapter uploaded in the next two to three days, but I make no promises. Have a lovely day :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**A big thank you to parrish122 for reviewing and to those who have favourited/followed, it is really appreciated! I hope y'all enjoy this chapter, I'll try to make this story as dramatic and exciting as possible :P**

Chapter 2

Elixsis had retreated in a shell, erecting a barrier between her and Cerberus. She wanted nothing more to do with the sick psychopaths; she barely even ate their food or made use of their facilities much to her sister's chagrin.

She couldn't erase the images from her mind of the tattooed girl strapped to the chair. They haunted her waking and sleeping hours, but when she was asleep it was Elixsis in the chair, experiencing unfathomable pain. Most nights she woke from these dreams soaked in cold perspiration with a scream trapped in her throat. What bothered her most about what she had witnessed, however, was the fact that more of these experiments must take place in the facility, seeing as how she and Viveres had been restricted to one floor. It also raised the question about her and Viv. Where they experiments, too? Apparently they were twins born of IVF, but everything else about their origin was classified. It was always "I'll tell you when you're older." Did they even have parents? Did they care about them? Was she and Viv just another experiment? Were they even…human?

She hugged her knees to her chest as she thought over the questions that flooded her brain, questions she wanted to ignore but couldn't. She and Viv had access to amazing training and fitness facilities, with non-optional sessions in them five days a week, basic and advanced lessons in the world around them, food, clothes, and accommodation. For all she knew, they could be grooming them both for something.

The quiet swish of the opening of her door jolted her from her reverie. It was Clarkson, approaching her with smiles and hypocrisy.

"Good morning Elixsis. Feeling better?" he asked, his tone falsely concerned.

"Fine," she lied frostily.

"Do you know what made you feel ill?"

She said nothing, but turned her head to look out of the window to the stars of the galaxy.

"It is very important we know the source, in case it's serious," he persevered. His voice was sickeningly patronising.

"Right. Look bad on your reports if something happened, wouldn't it?" she snapped, feeling the anger in her simmer.

His expression spasmed to sourness before he plastered back on his smile. "Whatever do you mean, Shepard?"

Shepard. He only called her that when they were having a no-nonsense conversation.

"What am I? What is my sister? Why are we trapped on this god-damn frigate, what's with all the training sessions? What are you trying to prove, why do we exist?" she ranted, her voice raising octaves with each question.

Clarkson adjusted his spectacles. "If you must know, Shepard, you and your sister have been chosen for something truly special. To protect humans, the ultimate goal of Cerberus."

Elixsis felt everything still for a moment, the life sucked out of her surrounding for a split instant, including her, Clarkson and the ship. Then life was infused back into it, Clarkson looking at her expectantly, the ships engine humming softly and Elixsis' breath ragged.

"You mean we will be soldiers?" she asked over the stone forming in her throat.

"In a way, yes. But your first priority must be to—"

"Protect humanity? Yeah, I got that part."

"Where is your sister?" Clarkson asked, a pathetic attempt to change the subject.

"Music lesson," Elixsis replied, still focused on the revelation.

_I'm going to be a soldier. I'll be expected to fight people for real, to forge into unknown territories and perilous situations._

"Why do you never partake of our more leisurely tuitions?" he asked, frowning.

Apart from shooting guns and being able to participate in hand-to-hand melee combat, learning to dance or play the piano was important to a Cerberus officer.

"Mark teaches me to cook. He says eating cafeteria food 24/7 is bad for morale."

Clarkson sighed softly. "Of course he does."

Mark was one of the technicians, but he had a surprisingly high altitude for cooking, particularly steak with diana sauce. He was about twenty, and a good friend of Elixsis. He treated her as a person, rather than an investment.

"I'll be going now, Elixsis." Clarkson said, excusing himself.

"Good riddance," she muttered when he left.

~o0o~

"She suspects something is amiss," Clarkson said over video chat.

"How so?" the Illusive Man asked.

"She's become reclusive, cold and has started asking questions. About her and her sister."

"Maybe she's just as that age," a smooth Australia voice interjected.

"Miranda," Clarkson said thinly. He hadn't realised Henry's pet-project was present. "Why are you here?"

"It's good to see you too, Clarkson."

"She's been monitoring Shepard," the Illusive Man explained. "And doing a far better job than you."

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Both Shepard's saw Subject Zero," Miranda explained. "It had a…adverse effect, particularly on Elixsis. Viveres is still loyal it would seem. But it is possible the elder Shepard may mutiny."

"I-I see…" Clarkson said pathetically.

"She misunderstands our goals," the Illusive Man spoke, studying the contents of his glass. "These experiments, however unfortunate, are done for the good of humanity. She is too blinded by her sympathy for Subject Zero to see that."

"Something must be done," Clarkson interposed breathlessly.

"Such sacrifices are unfortunate but necessary. I was the same when I first saw some of Cerberus's handiwork, but I came around. She will too," Miranda said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Not that I now approve of Subject Zero."

The Illusive Man finished his drink. "You said yourself, Miss Lawson. Such sacrifices are necessary. Keep an eye on Shepard. If she looks like she might mutiny, extend to her friendship. But if more extreme measures are necessary…then one Shepard will suffice."

"Of course, sir."


	3. Chapter 3

**Had so much trouble with this chapter! I suck so much at gun-fights since I'm so used to writing sword fights XD**

**Regardless, I hope you enjoy this chapter and appreciate the effort I put in trying to make it worth your time :)**

Chapter 3

The bullet narrowly missed Elixsis' ear as she vaulted over cover, ducking low behind it. More pinged loudly on the side of the metal crate she hid behind. She quickly loaded her heavy pistol with a fresh magazine, then listened for a break in fire. As soon as she heard it, she fired from cover, taking down one, but only disabling the shields of another, before taking cover again.

As far as she could see, there were five, but there had to be more, probably working their way around the sides to flank her. If that was the case, she needed to work fast.

Elixsis primed a grenade, then tossed it to the assembled group that were closing in on her. The explosion caught the one with the disabled shields, the shrapnel tearing through the tough armor. With them stunned by the explosion, Elixsis took the opportunity to move to forward. She couldn't afford to let them keep pushing her back; otherwise she would end up with her back against the wall.

She switched her pistol for her assault rifle then fired ceaselessly until one fell down in a blaze of smoke. From the peripheral of her vision, she saw movement. There was more, and they had a clear shot at her.

They began firing at her, the distance luckily causing miss-fired shots, but she was pinned down and her luck would eventually run out. Elixsis fired at them with her avenger assault rifle, but the bullets did little more than aggravate them.

One shot hit her, then another, slowly wearing away her shields.

_I need to move. Need to get out of here,_

Then a loud crack resounded through the battle-field, and one of the targets head exploded. Another crack, another explosion. The enemies ceased fire to look for the sniper, and Elixsis herself took a chance to scan the area.

Up top, on one of the large containers she saw a glint of a sniper scope and a crouched figure. Viveres. She made no sign of acknowledgment, just fired off another shot, but it hit off to the left of her target, drawing attention to her location.

"Get into cover!" Elixsis yelled, providing covering fire with her assault rifle as her sister gracefully leapt off the container and rolled toward a wall, sheltering from the gun-fire to Elixsis' right.

"Lix, to your left! They're flanking you!" she yelled, drawing out her pistol.

Elixsis grabbed another frag grenade and lobbed it. The two Shepards' killed the remnants not affected by the grenade, then focused on the others ahead of them. In an instant it was all over.

"Combat simulation ended," spoke the female monotone voice of the ships VI, "Completion time 2 minutes, 15.8 seconds. New record."

"Sis, you did it!" Viveres exclaimed happily.

"No," Elixsis responded, placing a hand on her sisters' shoulder, "_We_ did it."

She smiled, laughing slightly. "If you say so. I'm going to take a shower, see you at dinner."

"Yeah sure," Elixsis responded, placing the guns back into the weapons locker.

"Impressive show," said an unfamiliar female voice behind her.

Elixsis turned with the heavy pistol in her hand.

A young woman stood, hand on her cocked hip. Confidence oozed from every inch of her, from her flawless skin, blue eyes and shoulder-length ebony hair. She wore white leather combat armor with black leather gauntlets and thigh-high boots. She had never seen her before in her life, but she was Cerberus. The sigil was on her armor just beneath her left shoulder.

"I've heard a great deal about you Shepard," she continued in her smooth, accented voice, "But the tales don't quite do you justice."

"Who are you?" Elixsis asked unsurely, firearm still in hand.

"Miranda Lawson. I'm a Cerberus officer; here to make sure you have all you need. And that includes…answers."

Elixsis raised an eyebrow at her words. Something wasn't quite right here. She felt like she was being set up. There was something false about Miranda.

"You don't trust Cerberus, I know," Miranda said when she didn't reply, "Despite you having being raised on a Cerberus ship and living on one, you have your doubts about us. I want to allay any fears you have about us. And you can trust me. You and I, we're not so different."

"Is that so?" she asked dryly, but she lowered her weapon.

"But that's a tale for another time. What I'm here for now is to talk about Subject Zero."

"Subject Zero?" Shepard repeated. She had never heard of it before.

"The tattooed girl on the lower decks. I know you and your sister saw her. Just how safe do you think the two of you are if someone where to find out about it?"

Elixsis' head spun as she took in what she had said to her. She pointed the gun at her again. It sounded like she had threatened her and Viveres. She didn't take lightly to people threatening her younger sister.

"What are you saying?" Shepard spat angrily. "You're going to kill us both?"

"No. You are too valuable an asset. Even your cl—sister cannot hope to match you. And when I first saw Subject Zero, I despised Cerberus for it. But we make the ugly choices to save humanity. That is the ultimate goal of Cerberus. I saw that in time, and you will too."

"You save humans by torturing them!?" Elixsis scoffed.

"Sacrifice the few for the many. Perhaps you're too young to understand," Miranda spoke softly.

"Don't speak to me like I'm a child!" she retorted, annoyed. "Cerberus doesn't have the right to play God!"

"Perhaps not. But we don't picture ourselves as such. We're just doing our part, as you will soon enough. We'll speak more later, Shepard. Stay safe."

With that she strode out of the room, leaving Elixsis to finish putting away the weapons and armor as she thought her words through. What exactly were Cerberus trying to save humanity from?


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

At dinner, Elixsis filled her sister in about her rendezvous with Miranda and most of what she had told her.

"Miranda?" Viv asked, wide-eyed. "She's one of Cerberus's top-agents. Most agents on this ship answer directly to her"

Elixsis cocked her head inquisitively. "You know her?" She had never heard of Miranda before.

"After what we saw I…tried to do some digging on Cerberus agents. I didn't find much, just some names and faces."

"So do you have any information on her?" she asked without much hope.

"No. Those kinds of files I wouldn't be able to encrypt," she answered regretfully. "So she said you were a 'valuable asset'. Did she say anything about me?"

"She said…" Elixsis broke off, frowning, when she remembered Miranda saying Viv couldn't match up to her. "She said nothing. Most likely she will want to talk to you herself."

"Yeah, whatever," she replied glumly, picking at but not eating her food.

~o0o~

Weeks passed in the same manner they had before, and Elixsis didn't see Miranda at all, and neither did Viveres. The only thing that did change was the severity of their training; they found themselves pitted against more mechs with tougher shields and stronger weapons, and it continued to escalate with each day. The grim truth was there, glaring at them in the face: they were being prepped for war.

Elixsis clapped on her armor, checked all her weapons were fully loaded than stepped into the training arena with Viv. As always, the mechs sprung to life, firing ceaselessly. Elixsis drew their attention, then her sister sniped them with precision as they focused their attention on the twin zigzagging between the crates and containers scattered about for cover. She blindly shot behind her with her pistol, hearing with satisfaction one of the shots connecting.

Viveres calmly loaded another clip, squinted through the scope then squeezed the trigger, the bullet sliding effortlessly into the head of the mech closest to Elixsis. She nodded to her in acknowledgment, then ducked into cover, changing her pistol for her assault rifle, firing in short bursts at the on-coming horde.

Then a loud thud shook the whole room. Elixsis glanced from cover and saw a heavy mech at the opposite side of the room, shoving mechs out of its way as it primed a rocket.

"No no no!" she cried in panic, vaulting over the cover as it fired at her, the metal container exploded into charred pieces of shrapnel. The second shell she evaded, but the explosion caught her, destroying her shields and flinging her forward several feet. She heard a sickening cracking sound and felt pain lance through her face that connected with the metal tiling painfully.

Elixsis lay for a few seconds in a cocoon of pain, barely able to hear her sister's shouts over the ringing in her ears. She managed to raise her head, and through the blurriness of her vision she saw the heavy mech loading another shot slowly. She mentally screamed at herself to move, and her body complied.

She rose, ran and leapt through the air as she heard the shell whistling through the air. She rolled as she landed into cover, slapping a fresh magazine into her assault rifle, slumping slightly as her muscles protested with spasms of pain to the exertion of movement.

She allowed herself a few seconds to collect herself, then leaned out of cover and emptied the entire magazine into the mech, the bullets hitting the target but not one even dented the tough metal armor. Viv shot successive sniper clips, one after another, but not one even that did anything.

Elixsis dived, tucked and rolled to avoid the second shell, slowly learning its battle habits. It wouldn't help knowing how to dodge it though. She needed a way to take the thing down.

Elixsis quickly scanned the room to see if anything could help them. She saw her opportunity to the far north-east of the room and saw six gas containers. If she could lure it over there…

"Viv, stay down!" she yelled. "I have an idea!"

She counted to three, then sprinted out of cover, blindly shooting at the heavy mech, then hiding behind a low metal wall, waiting for the mech to draw close to her. She heard its heavy, lumbering steps as it approached her. As soon as it was close enough, she peered out of cover, then shot a single fire at the canisters, the gas venting out of the bullet hole. She fired another, and the stack of containers exploded, flames licking at the heavy mech, completely disabling its shields but having little to no effect on the mech itself.

Viveres fired a sniper round, the bullet piercing its armor this time round. It reared back slightly, then fired a rocket at the sniper. She dodged then fired in synchronisation with Elixsis, the collaborating bullets puncturing its metal head. As it was momentarily stunned, Elixsis rushed forward to the mech, bringing out the blade on her omni-tool. She leapt high, then buried the blade into the mechs face.

It unleashed a synthetic screech, sparks flying the rupture causing its body to convulse.

Elixsis withdrew her weapon, jumping away from the mech with detonated, as she surmised that it would.

She crouched over to regain her breath as Viveres sniped the final mech still standing before joining her.

"You ok?" she asked her.

"Yeah," she replied between pants. "Just a little tired."

That was a heavy mech," Viveres said, throwing a glance at the bits of shrapnel that were all that was left of it. "I can't believe they would pit us against one without warning."

Elixsis said nothing, just glared at the metal husk. She was told she was valuable, but Cerberus seemed to be doing a damned good job of trying to get her killed.

"Come on, let's go," she said to her sister. "We need some answers."

**I owe you an apology for two reasons:**

**1) I haven't updated for a while**

**2) I suck as gun-fighting sequences **

**So, yeah, sorry, have a nice day and take care of yourselves :)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"I want to see Miranda," she demanded Clarkson the following day.

He didn't look up from the terminal, just kept typing away in silence.

"Where is she?" Elixsis asked impatiently.

"I don't know. Please, Shepard, this work is important."

"What I have to speak with Miranda about is important, too."

He sighed and looked up at her. "If she's on the station, I don't know where. But wherever she is, you can guarantee she is in the middle of sensitive work, just as I am."

Then he worked, ignoring her. She sighed and begun walking away, knowing he would just continue to pay her no mind. He answered his comm which had just bleeped.

"Sir? Yes, yes she's here."

A few seconds of silence.

"Are you sure? Yes, I understand. Alright, of course."

He hung up.

"Shepard? The Illusive Man wishes to speak with you."

That pulled her up short. The Illusive Man, from what little she knew, he was Cerberus's boss. What would he want to speak with her about?

"Step into that room there," Clarkson pointed to the door at the far end of the room.

When she entered, she thought it was some ploy. It was small, just about the size of an average bathroom, and empty. The only thing there was a small ring of light in the centre, which acted as the only source of light. The room was impossibly dark.

Hesitantly she stepped into the ring of light, and the dark room faded, showing a holographic image of a large, low-ceiling room, the floor and ceiling made from highly polished black tiles. The one continuous wall was a window which showed a massive star that looked much like Sol's sun.

A man was sat in a spindly metal chair, on one of the arm's an ash tray which he casually flicked the ash off the end of his cigar into. The position of the large star and the smoke concealed most of his face. The only thing she could see was his inhuman blue eyes that glowed intensely. The way he scrutinised her with those cold, unnatural eyes made her feel uncomfortable.

The awkwardness escalated as he continued to glare at her in silence, taking several drags from his cigar.

"Shepard," he eventually said neutrally.

"They call you the Illusive Man. A fitting name." She meant to say it casually but her throat was so restricted she sounded timid.

"People only know what they need to know about me. And I know what I need about you." He pointed at her with the hand holding the cigar.

"Which is?"

"You're becoming everything you hoped for, and more. You single-handedly disabled a heavy mech. Even for a full-trained adult foot-soldier, that is quite the feat."

"I wasn't alone, I had help. And how did you know that?" she asked, feeling uneasy.

"I have been sent recordings of your training. It's nothing short of impressive. In a couple of years you will truly be one of the greatest soldiers this galaxy has to offer."

"But why does the galaxy need such a soldier?" she asked, seeing the opportunity to get some answers.

"When you are ready, you will receive that answer. For now, allow me to give you some advice: don't cross Cerberus."

Shepard was so shocked by the vehemence of his tone she couldn't answer; she just stared at him with surprise.

"That'll be all, Shepard."

~o0o~

Two years had passed. Today was Elixsis and Viveres's sixteenth birthday, but there were no celebrations. All they got for surviving sixteen years was a day off training, which they spent watching Vaenia and playing Kepesh-Yakshi. Viveres won, of course. She was always better at her at strategy games.

They were just starting their third game when an alarm sounded over the whole facility.

"Warning, breakout in Project Cell on deck five. All armed personnel respond," the ship's VI said calmly.

Elixsis and Viveres froze, still hovering over the game table, unable to respond. But when the VI repeated its warning, they sprang into action, flinging open their lockers on the wall, pulling on their armor and grabbing their weapons.

"Warning, Subject Zero has escaped, en-route to deck four."

Subject Zero. Years had passed since that event, but she still remembered. She had been tortured on, experimented with. No doubt she would want revenge on any Cerberus personnel.

"What deck's ours again?" Viveres asked as she grabbed extra thermal clips.

"Three," Elixsis replied grimly.

"Great," she said sarcastically as they left their room and began bolting down the corridor.

"We need to find Clarkson," Elixsis yelled over the alarm. "Never thought I'd be saying that."

"Shepard!" A voice called behind them.

Both Shepard's whirled round to see Miranda sprinting toward them, wearing a very worried expression.

"Miranda, what's going on?" Elixsis asked when she reached them.

"There's been a…breakout. You remember Subject Zero? She has escaped. As unfortunate as her fate was, she is dangerous. She needs to be either recaptured or neutralised," she said, looking guilty.

"You're not suggesting…"

"Yes, I'm afraid so. I'm going to need your help with this. Come on, we need to go to deck four."

~o0o~

The place was a mess. There were small fires sputtering up clouds of acrid smoke, exposed wires spitting sparks and bodies leaking blood from recent wounds.

Miranda stepped over the bodies, leading the two Shepard's down the wrecked hallway.

"Weapons at the ready. She must be close," Miranda cautioned them, unholstering her pistol and taking point.

Elixsis and Viveres did the same, pointing the barrels before them, expecting the fatal moment the Subject Zero would appear and inflict the same horrors on them as she had done on the Cerberus troops.

They continued forward, the only sounds coming from the fires and exposed wires. The stillness was starting to become unbearable when they heard a loud crash behind them.

All three spun to see a gaping hole had been rendered in the wall, coughing out smoke. From the blackness, a figure emerged. A tattooed figure.

Subject Zero stepped out, a vengeance in her eyes glaring at Elixsis, Viveres, then Miranda. Her scowl deepened when she saw the Cerberus mark on their armor.

"Cerberus bitches!" she screeched, "I'll destroy you all!"

**Hey! Sorry this chapter had a lot of dialogue, my characters are chatty, what can I say? Reviews are always appreciated, thank you and have a great day! :)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"We're here to take you back into custody, Jack," Miranda said calmly. "Come quietly, and maybe we won't have to shoot you."

"You try that, cheerleader," she sneered. "We'll see how that goes."

"We don't have to do this, Jack," Miranda persisted.

"No. I think we do."

Both of the biotics attacked at once, the sudden flash of blue hurting Elixsis' eyes. Jack biotically lifted a huge piece of metal then tossed it at the three of them. Miranda stopped it mid-air and threw it aside. She threw at warp field, and Miranda raised a barrier just in time to deflect the attack. She became angry throwing attack after attack until Miranda could no longer hold up the barrier.

Elixsis and Viveres began firing at her, then Jack upholstered her own gun, a mean-looking shotgun. They scrambled back to escape shotgun shells. Elixsis fired blindly behind her as she ran to cover. She struck lucky; one of her clips hit the shotgun, disarming her. Jack wasn't hurt, however. Now she was just more pissed off.

"Fucking bitch!" she screamed, lifting one glowing fist.

Elixsis body was thrown up into the air and backwards, sending her careening into a wall. Her head snapped backward on impact, hitting the interior of her helmet. The pain sent her into a stupor, she could not move or even really see. But over the ringing in her ears, she heard gunfire.

Elixsis stood, limping to where she had dropped her gun. She pointed it at the end of the corridor, where Jack had been. It was now vacated.

"Where did she go?" she asked Viv. She was doubled over from loss of breath.

"She's gone. Headed north, where the escape pods are located," she replied between pants. "Miranda went after her."

"Stay here, I'll find them," Elixsis said, sprinting north in pursuit.

"Touch me and I will smear the walls with you, bitch!" She heard a voice shout, muffled by distance.

_Has to be Jack_, she thought dryly.

She found them both outside of the escape pod bay, locked in a biotic battle.

"I'm giving you a chance!" Miranda cried, blocking an attack with a small barrier. "If you refuse to co-operate, I will have to neutralise you!"

Jack barked a bitter, animalistic laugh. "Mercy, from Cerberus? Bullshit!"

She biotically threw a table at her, which Miranda deftly dodged.

"If we wanted to kill you," she responded angrily, her stasis attack blocked by Jack, "We would have done so. We had plenty of opportunity."

"Instead, you decided to imprison me and control my life! You took a scared little girl and changed her. Too bad for you she become a dangerous, psychotic bitch!"

Elixsis watched and listened to the exchange. She and Jack weren't so different. Elixsis had lived the whole of her life according to Cerberus's rules. They said jump, she asked how high. She was never given a choice, an opinion. But she still had to her duty.

She upholstered her heavy pistol, and aimed it. "Stand down," she ordered, her voice surprisingly calm and collected. "Miranda."

Jack and Miranda both stopped their attack to look at her, the former intrigued the latter confused and angry.

"What the hell, Shepard!?" she hissed.

"Stopping you," she replied calmly. "I won't allow you to control someone else's lives. What gives you the right to dictate how other's live?"

"Smart move, kid," Jack quipped.

"You should leave now," she advised her, ignoring the panicked screaming in her gut.

"And miss the opportunity to wipe the smugness off her face?"

"This facility is crawling with Cerberus guards, and my sister will be on her way. As good as you think you are, they have superior numbers. They'll kill you," she replied. It only struck her then that she had sub-consciously referred to Cerberus as 'they' rather than 'we'.

Miranda's expression was both bewildered and furious.

"I think you mean they'll try."

"Is it worth the risk? Do you want them to kill you, or worse? Right now you have the opportunity to leave, and live life as you choose. Then you can live another day, and will have the chance for revenge," Elixsis insisted.

She never expected Jack to back down, but she did. She holstered her gun, mock saluted Miranda.

"See you around, kid," she said to Elixsis before stalking to the escape pods.

Elixsis then lowered her gun. She suddenly felt exhausted and confused, as though an omnipotent force had orchestrated her actions.

"What have you done, Shepard?" Miranda thundered.

"Sis what did you do?" A small voice questioned her.

Viveres was staring at her with an unreadable expression, her inquisitive eyes flickering between her and Miranda.

"What I had to," she replied, and then she bolted.

She fled into the corridor that held the escape pods, jumped in and punched the launch button. The pod hissed and then was launched into the black depths of space. As she stared out into the fathomable black abyss littered with small silver orbs, she found her breathing and heart rate abnormally high, tears pricking at her eyes. She sat with her head between her knees, trying desperately to calm her respiration and cardiovascular systems that seemed to be in over-drive. Her ID tag dangled from around her neck in her line of sight, on it inscribed her name, Elixsis Shepard. She ripped it from her neck, flinging it away. It was the name she gave it. From this point forth, Elixsis would be known solely as Shepard.

**Sorry this was short, but I was interrupted countless times writing this, which pretty much threw my muse out of the window. Hope you enjoyed it, regardless! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

She was trapped in a coma of disbelief, anxiety and a slither of relief. She was drifting amongst the stars, to the Sol System, with only the emergency provision in the pod, no idea what she was going to do now, but she was still free. No expectation or responsibilities lay on her shoulders anymore, she could live her life how she herself dictated. At the same time, Shepard now had no home, barely any food or water and no money. How she planned to survive, she didn't know. Shepard decided to take it step-by-step, and the first step was reaching her destination: Earth. The home of humankind, which had been mankind's only home before the discovery of Mass Relay's.

After Shepard had input the co-ordinates into the pod's controls and activated the auto-pilot, she shed her Cerberus armor. They had a bad reputation as terrorists, so it wouldn't so to walk around Earth wearing their armor. Walking around Earth in any type of armor would warrant suspicion. Luckily, with the provision she found civilian clothing; plain navy combats, black combat boots and a plain black pullover. It would suffice for now.

Shepard continued to muse over other seemingly pointless worries to take her mind off what had transpired, to take her mind off what was now transpiring.

"ETA three hours," announced the smooth, synthetic voice of the VI.

Her hastening arrival tore open the vault full of worry and concern that she had done her best to lock away, the fears flooding her body as though someone had raised a dam barricading a storm-swept ocean. Her knees faltered, and she collapsed into one of the passenger seats, her heart and breathing rate escalating once again. The sound of her sisters voice was branded onto her brain, just another scar that wouldn't heal. She had broken her heart, she knew, but it was better this way. She was patriotic, whilst Shepard had always had her doubts of Cerberus's integrity. It was only a matter of time before it came to this. It didn't make it hurt any less.

She curled up on the passenger seats in the back, doing her best to remain calm, but she could not stop the panicked convulsions of her body. But soon she blissfully slipped into a plain slumber, unspoilt by any dreams.

"ETA two minutes," the VI voice announced, jolting her awake.

Shepard glanced around herself, momentarily forgetting the events that had just occurred. Her surroundings quickly thrust her back into the present, having betrayed Cerberus and escaped their ship. She ignored her ragged breathing and palpitating heart, quickly packing away the untouched medical supplies and the remaining food and water as the pod plunged through the Earth's atmosphere, fast approaching the ground. She strapped herself into a chair, resisting the urge to throw up, her breathing continuing to escalate.

"ETA one minute."

Shepard gripped the straps of her safety harness, closing her eyes to blot out the sky that she was quickly passing through.

"ETA thirty seconds."

She began counting down in her head, counting down to the instant that she would arrive on Earth, a moment that she was anxiously awaiting and dreading.

Shepard expected the gentle touchdown of the pod, but it never came. The fast descent didn't slow, it continued until the pod crashed into the planet's surface, landing heavily, then rolling three times, her harness keeping her anchored to the seat, but her head snapped back on impact, tendrils of pain probing her neck. The pod skidded on its side a few feet then finally stopped.

Shepard squinted in pain as she undone the buckles of the harness and fell from her seat, then crawled out of the hatch, which was facing upwards. When she exited, she was blinded by the impossibly bright sun, painting the world around her white.

She recovered her sight seconds later, and she stared in horror at her surroundings. It was just and endless stretch of golden sand, not even the slightest sign of life around her at all, just the sand and mercilessly hot sun, which her feel like it was cooking her skin and flesh.

Shepard shifted the pack further up on her back, aware of the short supply of food and water she had. She didn't even know where she was and where to go. She was stranded in the middle of a desert.

Shepard tried to remain calm, spinning around looking for a city, an oasis, anything. But there was nothing around her for as far as she could see.

But Shepard decided she wouldn't sojourn here in self-pity and defeat—she was going to live. She hadn't survived all those training exercises and escaped from Cerberus just to die in a desert.

Her resolve strengthened, she clutched the strap of her pack and struck out to the north, making her way up a small sand dune, concentrating on where she was going so that she wouldn't be able to think about her current situation, which looked hopeless so far.

She had been walking for hours, weary, hot, slightly irritated and growing more and more worried until it was all she could do not to throw herself on the baking hot ground and wait for death. She continued forward, her feet dragging through the sandy ground, forging ahead across the endless plain.

When night fell, she practically collapsed to the ground, exhausted. Her sleep was heavy, and filled with terrifying images of this sand coated-hell becoming her tomb. But the nightmare didn't discourage her; instead she became more determined than ever to survive. The next day she began her search after a meagre breakfast when the horizon was still a red scar in the sky. Shepard slung her pack onto her back and resumed her journey. It was around midday when she saw it, in the distance; a blot of black about the size of her thumb. Obviously she couldn't discern what it was from this distance, but the site of it was enough to fill her with hope. It may very well be her salvation.

Then Shepard was running, running to the last slither of hope that lay on the horizon.

**You have to wait two weeks for a new chapter, and what is it? A filler chapter! I'm just the worst _**

**But it had to be done to move the story along, and I'm quite pleased how the future chapters are shaping up, so I hope that you're looking forward to them. Take care lovely lads and lasses! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Her lungs were burning as intense as lava, her heart ready to burst free from her ribcage as she sprinted across the desert to her salvation, which gradually grew in size. Shepard pushed her weary body past her limits, ignoring the screech of her agonised muscles begging for rest, sweat pouring off her and her head pounding from dehydration. She paused for now more than five seconds to force down a mouthful of water, then she was sprinting again.

It felt like days before she had drawn close enough to discern what the object had been: it was a city, a town, the large skyscrapers reaching to the sky, beacons that signalled her deliverance. She nearly wept with joy when she saw it.

The sand eventually gave way to a road that led into the city. Cacti sprouted either side of the road, the first wildlife she had seen since arriving in this god-forsaken place. She stopped running when she saw them; they were the most beautiful plants she had ever seen. Shepard walked into the city, filled with _people._ People who had made a life here, and were now going about it. People who were normal.

Shepard staggered into the city, thoroughly weary; it was all she could do to remain vertical.

"Hey, are you alright?" a citizen asked her, taking in her haggard appearance.

Shepard opened her mouth to reply, but she was caught off when that very same person shrieked, her eyes fixed on a pint behind and above Shepard. She turned to see a ship approaching, an ugly bulky grey star ship fast approaching them, six turrets on either side of its body, a cannon fixed on the belly of the hull. Its sudden apparition drew the whole cities attention as its long shadow fell across the ground, an ugly black stain. It descended slowly until it was several dozens of feet above everyone, then opened fire. Pandemonium broke loose. People began to flee, pushing others out of their way, trampling on the fallen, the selfish act of self-preservation, but Shepard found herself bolting away from the fury of the rapid-fire turrets.

A thunderous noise announced the cannon's first shot, impacting on a skyscraper completely constructed from glass. Large hazardous chunks of it began raining down upon them. Shepard saw a child crying, standing still in fear as the building collapsed overhead. She slid across the ground, securing the child in her arms before escaping the deconstruction of the building, then delivering the child into the arms of her grateful parents, sobbing with joy.

Then the ship landed on the ground, and the people inside poured out, clad in armor with a combat print in the shades of grey and beige, all wearing breather helmets that obscured their faces. They began shooting down people that were at a distant, grabbing local people and dragging them onto the ship. They had to be slavers.

Shepard managed to sneak up on the closest one, grabbing him around the neck in a chokehold until he stopped struggling and fell to the ground. She dragged him behind the husk of a torn-down building, then stripped him of his armor and gun before slipping into the ranks of the slavers.

"Slit into groups!" the commander ordered them. "Round up the young and healthy, kill the elderly, weak and sick."

Shepard joined one of the splinter groups heading south with them deeper into the city, ensuing she was the one at the back of the group. Altogether, there were seven of them, well-armed with a shotgun or an assault rifle, each of them had a sidearm holstered on their hip. The one in front of her was lagging behind the rest of the group. If she was careful, she could silently kill him without the rest realising.

She caught up to him, then slocked her arms around his neck. She held him as tightly as she could to constrict his movement, thus quieting his struggle as he batted against her arms, before he stilled. She slowly lowered his body to the ground, laying him down slightly before following the rest of the group. They more or less kept in a loose semi-circular formation, which would make it impossible to silently kill them.

Shepard drew out the assault rifle she had stolen, aiming it carefully at the one in the centre. She squeezed the trigger as she strafed to the side to cover. His head exploded gloriously, spraying the slavers on either side of him.

"What the hell!?" they shouted in surprise.

"There!" one yelled, pointing at Shepard as she slipped into cover. "We've got a traitor!"

"Grew a conscious did you?" a voice scoffed as he fired his shotgun.

Shepard watched in dismay as it punched right through her cover.

"Come out!" he yelled, firing again as Shepard quickly scrambled to the left.

She gave herself two seconds to collect herself, then leaned over the cover and fired a short burst before she ducked to avoid the volley of bullets aimed at her head. Her shits had caught the shot-gun wielding slaver in the arm and chest. He may not be dead, but he was certainly crippled.

Shepard heard a bleeping, and looked to her left to see a grenade roll close to her. Instinctively, she jumped to the right and rolled when she landed, the grenade exploding harmlessly to her far left, but she was exposed.

The slavers trained their guns one her, and Shepard sprinting, feeling the bullets collide on the ground at her heels, hearing them whistle past her ear. Then she felt a blinding pain in her leg, and collapsed to the ground, face-first. She glanced behind at herself and saw blood seeping out of a wound in her right calf. Gripping her leg in pain, she managed to worm her way behind a downed sky car, gasping as she straightened out her injured leg, where the bullet was stuck.

"The son-of-a-bitch is injured!" a slaver cried. "Let's go finish him!"

Shepard grasped her assault rifle in both hands, leaning it against her right shoulder and keeping her eyes trained to the left of her cover, preparing herself for their arrival. The likelihood she would survive the confrontation was low, but she refused to die weak and whimpering—she could at least remove some slavers from the world before she departed.

"Shit, look up!" she heard one yell, his panic audible.

Shepard cast her eyes skyward and saw another ship approaching, sleeker than the slavers one, and the tell-tale symbol of the human alliance on the side of it.

"It's the Alliance!" they cried.

"There's another one!"

A similar ship appeared next to it, a large battle frigate that opened fire on the slavers below, the turret bringing down their shields and ripping through their armor. Shepard remembered that she was wearing the same armor and crawled into a niche created by the sky car leaning against a half-standing building, obscuring her from the view of the ship.

Both descended down onto the mini-battlefield, and the Alliance soldiers stepped out.

"Round up as many survivors as you can," the ship's captain ordered calmly, "Kill any remaining slavers."

**Hey guys, I've actually been sick this weekend, and I'm just getting over it but still drowsy and dizzy as hell, so you'll understand if there's any grammatical/spelling errors or if it just reads poorly, and I apologize if that is the case :) But I promised myself to post at least two chapters this weekend, so, ta-da! :P**


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